Magazines are struggling, especially the weekly news, fashion and celebrity magazines that once dominated newsstands. Revenues from magazine racks have plummeted in recent years, with many magazines going out of print or completely discontinued.
Still, there is something Proliferating in checkout aisles are one-off publications devoted to a single topic, known as “bookcasgins.” Last year, more than 1,200 different book magazines were released across the country. They range from Taylor Swift, Star Wars, the Kennedy assassination, K-pop, the British royal family, and, as host Willa Paskin recently observed, the career of retired movie star Robert Redford. Covers a wide range of topics.
In today's episode, Willa takes a peek behind the rack to explore this new format. Who writes, publishes, and reads these one-off magazines, and why? Are book magazines the way forward for magazines, or their last gasp?
Voices heard in this episode include Kara Donley, a longtime magazine reporter turned prolific book author; Eric Segda, executive at book publisher a360 Media. And Eric Radvon, who is a manga author and a fan of books and magazines.
This episode was produced by Max Friedman and edited by Evan Chan, who produces the show with Katie Shepard. Derek John will serve as executive producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
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